Nightmare Sisters
Encyclopedia
Nightmare Sisters is a direct-to-video
, low-budget
, erotic
horror-comedy from 1987. It is notable as one of only two films in which 1980s scream queen
s Linnea Quigley
, Brinke Stevens
, and Michelle Bauer
appear together.
The party fizzles and the guys are on the verge of leaving when the girls try to liven things up by holding a séance. The crystal ball they use at the séance
is cursed and causes the girls to become possessed by a succubus
.
The suddenly sexy (and mostly nude) girls share some pie and a bath and then set out to seduce and murder their guests. The girls take on new personas to help them trap their prey. Mickey becomes a bikini-clad jungle girl, Marci transforms herself into a pigtail-sporting naughty girl, and Melody changes into a wild rock chick. The boys fight temptation and try to find help for the girls. The situation gets more complicated when the boys’ loutish fraternity brothers show up looking to score.
Linnea Quigley also sings “Santa Monica Blvd. Boys,” a song she performed with her band The Skirts.
.
The film was shot in the producer’s rented home. Set decoration largely consisted of different colored lighting and covering the walls with posters. (One of the posters is for Creepozoids
, another David DeCoteau film starring Linnea Quigley
.) The actresses did their own make-up and provided their own costumes.
The film was intended for the video rental market and possibly showings on late night cable television. Nightmare Sisters disappeared from sight shortly after being released. The company distributing the film abruptly went out of business with the result that less than 2,000 copies of the tape were ever distributed. The film became an instant obscurity.
Over the next decade, the popularity of the three actresses, word of mouth about the famous bathtub scene, and the scarcity of the film caused it to develop a cult reputation.
A segment from Nightmare Sisters featuring Linnea Quigley singing was included in Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout (1990). Footage also appeared in Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991).
In the early 1990s, a censored version of Nightmare Sisters aired on USA Up All Night
on USA Network
. The famous scene in which the girls share a bath was excised and replaced with newly shot footage of the actresses in lingerie, jumping on a bed, and bouncing balloons.
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
, low-budget
Low budget film
A low-budget film is a motion picture shot with little or no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many Independent films are made on low budgets but films made on the mainstream circuit with unexperienced or unknown filmmakers can also have low budgets. Many young or first time...
, erotic
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
horror-comedy from 1987. It is notable as one of only two films in which 1980s scream queen
Scream queen
A scream queen is an actress who has become associated with horror films, either through an appearance in a notable entry in the genre as a frequent victim or through constant appearances as the female protagonist...
s Linnea Quigley
Linnea Quigley
Linnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
, Brinke Stevens
Brinke Stevens
Brinke Stevens is an American actress, model and writer.-Life and career:Born in San Diego, California, Stevens has studied several foreign languages, including Esperanto, and gained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Marine...
, and Michelle Bauer
Michelle Bauer
Michelle Bauer is an American B-movie actress, scream queen, pornographic actress, and bondage model.Bauer was Penthouse magazine's Pet of the Month for July 1981....
appear together.
Synopsis
Buck-toothed Melody, bespectacled Marci, and chubby Mickey are socially awkward sorority sisters. Desperate for some fun, they invite a trio of equally nerdy fraternity pledges over for a party.The party fizzles and the guys are on the verge of leaving when the girls try to liven things up by holding a séance. The crystal ball they use at the séance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
is cursed and causes the girls to become possessed by a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
.
The suddenly sexy (and mostly nude) girls share some pie and a bath and then set out to seduce and murder their guests. The girls take on new personas to help them trap their prey. Mickey becomes a bikini-clad jungle girl, Marci transforms herself into a pigtail-sporting naughty girl, and Melody changes into a wild rock chick. The boys fight temptation and try to find help for the girls. The situation gets more complicated when the boys’ loutish fraternity brothers show up looking to score.
Cast
- Linnea QuigleyLinnea QuigleyLinnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
as Melody - Brinke StevensBrinke StevensBrinke Stevens is an American actress, model and writer.-Life and career:Born in San Diego, California, Stevens has studied several foreign languages, including Esperanto, and gained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Marine...
as Marci - Michelle BauerMichelle BauerMichelle Bauer is an American B-movie actress, scream queen, pornographic actress, and bondage model.Bauer was Penthouse magazine's Pet of the Month for July 1981....
as Mickey - Richard Gabai as Kevin, Melody's date
- William Dristas as Duane, Marci's date
- Marcus Vaughter as Freddy, Mickey's date
- Timothy Kauffman as Phil, an obnoxious frat guy
- Matthew Phelps as J.J., an obnoxious frat guy
- C. Jay CoxC. Jay CoxC. Jay Cox is an American director and screenwriter.-Biography:Cox grew up in Eastern Nevada and made his first film when he was eight years old . Growing up, he continued writing and creating short films. He graduated with a BA in Journalism from Brigham Young University...
as Bud, an obnoxious frat guy - Michael Soneye aka Dukey Flyswatter as Omar
- Jim Culver as The Exorcist
Music
Music for the film was performed by Dukey Flyswatter (who also appears in the film) and Haunted Garage. Songs include "Sorority Sister Succubus" and "Brain in a Jar." "Brain in a Jar" appeared on the band’s 1991 CD Possession Park.Linnea Quigley also sings “Santa Monica Blvd. Boys,” a song she performed with her band The Skirts.
History
Nightmare Sisters was filmed over four days in September 1987 for about $40,000 using left-over film, cast, and crew from the just completed Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-RamaSorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama is a 1988 sci-fi/horror B movie directed by David DeCoteau, loosely-based on the classic short story The Monkey's Paw....
.
The film was shot in the producer’s rented home. Set decoration largely consisted of different colored lighting and covering the walls with posters. (One of the posters is for Creepozoids
Creepozoids
Creepozoids is a 1987 low budget science fiction/horror film directed by David DeCoteau, and starring Linnea Quigley, Ken Abraham, Michael Aranda and Kim McKamy -Plot summary:...
, another David DeCoteau film starring Linnea Quigley
Linnea Quigley
Linnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
.) The actresses did their own make-up and provided their own costumes.
The film was intended for the video rental market and possibly showings on late night cable television. Nightmare Sisters disappeared from sight shortly after being released. The company distributing the film abruptly went out of business with the result that less than 2,000 copies of the tape were ever distributed. The film became an instant obscurity.
Over the next decade, the popularity of the three actresses, word of mouth about the famous bathtub scene, and the scarcity of the film caused it to develop a cult reputation.
A segment from Nightmare Sisters featuring Linnea Quigley singing was included in Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout (1990). Footage also appeared in Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991).
In the early 1990s, a censored version of Nightmare Sisters aired on USA Up All Night
USA Up All Night
USA Up All Night is an American cable television series that aired weekly on Friday and Saturday nights on the USA Network. The show aired from 1989 to 1998.-Synopsis:...
on USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
. The famous scene in which the girls share a bath was excised and replaced with newly shot footage of the actresses in lingerie, jumping on a bed, and bouncing balloons.